MLB News

Rangers stun Rockies with rally in ninth

By
T.R. Sullivan and Ben WeinribMLB.com

DENVER -- The Rangers scored three runs in the top of the ninth to come from behind and beat the Rockies, 4-3, on Monday night at Coors Field. It was the fifth time this season the Rangers have won after trailing heading into the ninth.

The rally came against rookie closer Carlos Estevez, who was trying to protect a 3-1 lead and earn his 12th save.

DENVER -- The Rangers scored three runs in the top of the ninth to come from behind and beat the Rockies, 4-3, on Monday night at Coors Field. It was the fifth time this season the Rangers have won after trailing heading into the ninth.

The rally came against rookie closer Carlos Estevez, who was trying to protect a 3-1 lead and earn his 12th save.

"That was a gritty one," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "It didn't look good early, but our guys stayed engaged. Those guys never quit. You saw it tonight, they continue to fight hard. They've got a plan, and they've got a mission. They stay engaged."

Adrian Beltre led off the inning with a single but was forced at second on a grounder by Rougned Odor. Jurickson Profar drew a walk, then he and Odor worked a double steal. That set the table for Elvis Andrus, who grounded a single up the middle to send home both runs.

The Rockies then brought in left-hander Boone Logan to face Mitch Moreland in a lefty vs. lefty matchup. Moreland won the battle, lining a double into the right-field corner to score Andrus before being thrown out trying for third.

"I mean, obviously we've been doing it all year," Moreland said. "We've fought to the end every night, and that's been a big thing for this team. We feed off each other, we feed off of that, and we know that no game is over until we finish it. We were able to finish it tonight."

The loss ended Rockies starter Tyler Anderson's chance for a fifth straight win after he allowed one run in seven innings. He took a one-hit shutout into the seventh, but Beltre led off the inning with a home run. Rangers starter Cole Hamels allowed two runs in six innings.

"I wouldn't say I was unhittable; obviously, Beltre found that out," Anderson said. "[I was] just throwing strikes and competing out there, which is what we've stuck to all day."

Nolan Arenado hit the 100th home run of his career in the fourth. It was his third home run in the last two games and fourth in the last six. He is the 11th Rockies player to reach the 100-homer mark.

With the Marlins' loss on Monday, the Rockies remained four games out of the second National League Wild Card spot.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDCarGo aggravates ankle injury: Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez exited the game after the top of the first with inflammation in his left ankle. He sprained the ankle in the eighth inning of Colorado's Aug. 3 win over the Dodgers and sat out two of the next four games. He aggravated the injury running to cover first base on a third strike that escaped catcher Nick Hundley.

"I was trying to get everybody's attention to get me out of the game, that I couldn't run," Gonzalez said. "Good thing there was no play in right field. I got to the dugout and tried to take the tape off. Soon as I took the tape off, the swelling got really bad." More >

Double steal keys rally: The Rangers knew going into the ninth inning that they could run on Estevez. Field coordinator Jayce Tingler told both Odor and Profar to look for the opportunity, and they pulled off a double steal that led to Andrus' game-tying single. "We planned it before the inning," Profar said. More >

Estevez blows another save: Estevez blew a second straight save opportunity by putting on three of the first four batters, all of whom scored in his one-third of an inning. Estevez surrendered four runs in two-thirds of an inning in his last appearance, on Friday. Previous to the two blown saves, he had only allowed two runs in his 12 save situations since being named closer.

"I was in the strike zone," Estevez said. "I got ground balls with it. I got an out with it. They just went through holes. The changeup was a good pitch." More >

Beltre hits No. 430: Beltre hit the 430th home run of his career to lead off the seventh inning, and is now one behind Cal Ripken Jr. for 48th all-time. Statcast™ projected the distance of Beltre's homer at 445 feet, his longest of the season.

QUOTABLE"He's got a cutter, he throws a two-seamer, and he has a changeup that he can throw at any time. There's some similarities between the two lefties throwing tonight. Hamels has been doing it for a long time, but even looking to the future for Tyler, you can see a little bit of Cole Hamels." -- Rockies manager Walt Weiss, on Anderson

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDSArenado became the first Rockies player with consecutive 30-homer seasons since Matt Holliday hit 34 in 2006 and 36 in 2007.

OTTAVINO CONTINUES DOMINANCERockies right-hander Adam Ottavino put two of the first three runners on to start the eighth inning but got out of the jam with a forceout and a strikeout of Jonathan Lucroy. Ottavino extended his scoreless streak to 26 1/3 innings, which dates back 701 days. He missed more than 14 months recovering from Tommy John surgery and returned to action last month.

AFTER FURTHER REVIEWIn the third, the Rangers challenged a call that had Ian Desmond out at first to complete a double play. After a review, the umpires overturned the call, ruling that Desmond touched first base before the ball hit the back of Mark Reynolds' glove.

WHAT'S NEXTRangers: Right-hander A.J. Griffin pitches against the Rockies at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday at Coors Field. Griffin is 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA in his last three starts and is pitching at Coors Field for the first time.

Rockies: Right-hander Tyler Chatwood will take the mound on Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. MT in the final game of the two-game series in Denver before the teams head to Texas. He has walked 24 batters in 31 innings since coming off the 15-day disabled list with a mid-back strain.